Kamrie Ewing, 10, has made $10,000 in the last year. Her mom, Melanie Ewing, looks at her with a sort of awe. Very few 10-year-olds can make that sort of money. Even less would give it away.

It all started last summer. Ewing was searching for a way to keep Kamrie and her older brother from spending the entire summer fighting. She had the idea of letting Kamrie make hair ribbons and possibly sell a few to her cousins and friends.

“I said, ‘If you were able to sell a few, what would you want to buy?’ And she said ‘I would want to donate it to an orphanage,’” Ewing said. “And I thought, ‘No way. She didn’t hear me right,’ so I started over.”

Even hearing the concept again, Kamrie was still adamant about giving any money she earned to children in need.

“We were thinking she was going to make about $20, but my husband and I agreed that she could donate whatever she made,” Ewing said.

Kamrie started making hair ribbons. She had the idea of selling them at her brother’s ball games. It worked.

“I came into the kitchen and said ‘Mom, Dad, cover your ears. I’m about to go into the office and scream. I made $100,’” Kamrie said.

This success made Ewing aware of how determined her daughter was. Kamrie soon created a nonprofit organization which she named “Kamrie’s Colorful Creations.”

“After she got that first $100 I started thinking, ‘I’m really going to have to find somewhere for her to donate this money to,’” Ewing said.

At this time, the Ewings were not aware of any children’s homes they could donate to. Kamrie’s brother came up with the idea of donating the money to Korey Heath, a 12-year-old from Russellville who is battling cancer.

Kamrie liked this idea and continued to raise money to donate.

“When we dropped the money off to her, I got in the car and said, ‘Mom, I want to do it again,’” Kamrie said.

Kamrie has given money to Heath and has also raised money for Carter Knuckles, 4, another child battling cancer.

“After she finished raising the $2,000 for that little girl I thought, ‘Okay, it’s done,’” Ewing said. “Then that Sunday at church our pastor said the phrase, “If you can’t help 100, help just one.’”

“Ever since then, that’s become our motto,” Kamrie said.

This phrase was said during an announcement by the pastor that the church was going to buy toys for a children’s home in Morrilton called Southern Christian Home.

“When he said that, I got a lump in my throat,” Ewing said. “I knew we weren’t done.”

When they got home, Kamrie said she wanted to donate $100 to the children’s home for Christmas. This started what Kamrie called “Operation Bookmark Happiness.”

The idea was to get five people to donate $20 to sponsor a teacher. Kamrie would then make bookmarks out of ribbon and paper clips for each of the students in that teacher’s class.

“I put it on Facebook and that night we had 10. By Wednesday we had about 52, and by Friday I think we ended up with 106,” Ewing said.

This added up to more than 2,500 bookmarks. The small, five-day project suddenly didn’t seem possible.

Since school was going to be out the next week, the bookmarks had to be made the following weekend. Twenty-four volunteers showed up to help fill the orders.

“That’s a lot of bookmarks, just so you know,” Kamrie said.

Kamrie’s journey into the business of being a nonprofit has taught all of them many things. Ewing said she has come to realize that part of the job of Kamrie’s Colorful Creations is to educate the public on children homelessness.

“We’ve learned so much, it’s changed me completely,” Ewing said. “I thought DHS and foster care and things like that took care of the kids in the need. I had no idea that in Morrilton there’s a children’s home. There’s 49 kids there.”

Along with the knowledge of children homelessness, Ewing said Kamrie has also learned things she didn’t expect. Kamrie has learned a lot about money. She’s learned how to endorse checks and fill out deposit slips. She has also learned about using funds to reinvest in her business. Ewing said that was a difficult concept for Kamrie to learn, but she understands it now.

The ribbons and bookmarks are not the only projects Kamrie has done. They had a garage sale where many people donated items and volunteered their time. T-shirts and bracelets with the organization’s motto are also sold.

Kamrie’s newest project is called “Operation Backpack Happiness.” The goal is to donate backpacks to children’s homes across Arkansas.

So far, 15 churches and businesses have agreed to be drop-off points. These locations can be found on Kamrie’s website, www.kamriescolorfulcreations.org.